How to Temporarily Disable Installation of Windows XP SP2

Windows XP Service Pack 2 has been released and on August 16 it will begin to be rolled out to people who use Automatic Updates or Windows Update. Some people don't want to automatically install SP2 yet for a variety of reasons, including the potential impact it might have on the applications they use.

Microsoft released a set of tools (XPSP2BlockerTools) that can help you temporarily disable automatic installation of SP2 by using administrative templates or an executable program. For people who can't use one of those two solutions for whatever reason, the company also released an email template that can be used to deliver a URL users can click, which will also disable the installation of SP2. The URL links to a program hosted on Microsoft's Web site and users will need administrative rights on their systems to use that method.

All three methods create a special registry key that disables SP2 installation. You can learn more about these solutions at Microsoft's TechNet Web site in the article, "Temporarily Disabling Delivery of Windows XP Service Pack 2 Through Windows Update and Automatic Updates "

Also note that users of Microsoft Security Baseline Analyzer (MBSA) will need to update to MBSA 1.2.1 for interoperability with Windows XP Service Pack 2. Microsoft said it will released MBSA 1.2.1 later this month, possibly on August 16.